Tied up with legislation

5:35pm Wednesday 24th January 2001

I would refer to the letter published last week from Mr R Todd who, understandably, appeared quite disgruntled about the history of Elstree Way.

I remember expressing similar views when I first became elected to Hertsmere Borough Council in 1983 and discussed this matter with the late Councillor Jim Kentish, the Labour Group spokesperson on all planning matters.

Councillor Kentish was an authority on local planning and a member of the committee which considered the applications that subsequently became the achievements of the "greed-ridden developers", referred to by Mr Todd.

However, be the truth known, the elected members of Hertsmere Borough Council at that time, similar to the members of today, had no authority to reject the building of office blocks in Elstree Way within the existing constraints of planning legislation.

Therefore, to oppose these applications would have resulted in the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money, fighting appeals in the courts, brought by developers safe in the knowledge that they would win under planning legislation laid down by Central Government.

The expenditure of public money to promote either parochial or partisan opposition to these Central Government-sponsored intrusions within our community may have invoked punitive action by the District Auditor.

Therefore, I would hope that Mr Todd, with many other readers, will understand the difficulty occasionally confronted by councillors when making decisions.

Labour councillors in Borehamwood have always represented the traditional and fundamental values and concerns of the residents, and this is demonstrated no less by the holding of a public meeting in Fairway Hall, in Brook Close, on Wednesday, January 31, at 6.30pm. Elected members will listen to the comments arising from the growing anger of the people against the iniquitous decision of the Conservative-controlled council to increase the cost of bus pass from £16 to £36, without even a token consultation with users of the service.

Councillor Frank Ward,

Labour Group Leader,

Hertsmere Borough Council.